Under pressure

Saturday was a great day. I got to get my hair done, go take some pictures of a precious newborn, who was absolutely adorable, and then come hang out at home with my awesome family. Between mine and Kevin's schedules, it's been quite awhile since we've had a saturday at home with nothing going on. I've missed days like this.

We spent some time in the afternoon outside on the trampoline enjoying this gorgeous weather we're having...yep, february in Houston can be pretty gorgeous. In fact, Halli and Peyton spent a good part of the afternoon in swimsuits jumping on the trampoline with the sprinklers on.

Anywhoo, Kevin started teaching Halli how to do a backflip. She was a little scared of doing it, but eventually, she got it. She was doing them like crazy! She is SO excited to show Blake this afternoon that she can do it. There is one problem though, after dinner she went out to try it again, and sort of forgot how to do it.

She's psyching herself out and to watch her, she isn't even trying, but it's just because she's scared. She's basically throwing herself onto the trampoline on her back with out even jumping up. It would be funny, except it makes her so sad that she can't do it anymore! When she realized she couldn't do it, Kevin was gone getting our pizza, and when he came back he tried to help her figure it out, but it wasn't happening. Sometimes, we just get in our own way, and she just wasn't getting it.

So she came inside, very depressed and laid on the couch in tears. It was bathtime, and Kevin didn't want to give the girls their baths, so he made Halli a deal, if she could go outside, and do ONE backflip, I would have to do baths, and I also agreed to make the girls cookies, but she only had ONE chance! I don't know how I got stuck with baths in this deal, but I had been watching Halli all afternoon, and wasn't sure she would be able to do it.

We all went outside, and stood on the patio while Halli climbed onto the tramp. It was funny, cause as we were standing there waiting, we could hear her talking to herself, getting ready to make one final attempt. Finally she did it, she jumped...and flipped. She didn't land on her feet, but she did a backflip nonetheless.

It was such a small thing, that in the long run won't really matter, but Kevin and I looked at each other and were just amazed at this awesome girl. That trait right there will serve her so well in life. I don't know if it's because of our sports backgrounds, but both of us have been in that situation countless times. Where you only get one chance to accomplish something. One chance to make a freethrow, one chance to clear the bar, or any number of other things. But whatever the obstacle, we were so impressed with her ability to focus on the task at hand, walk herself through it, and do her absolute best! Kevin and the other girls stormed the tramp and tackled Halli, all of them screaming at the top of their lungs, her sisters were beyond excited for cookies!

I am going to LOVE watching these kids grow up and succeed at whatever is placed before them. I truly hope Kevin and I can allow them to fail, so that they can do the hard work and really appreciate when they do succeed. Sometimes it's hard to be a parent and to watch your children do hard things. This morning, Halli got back out there and again couldn't do a backflip. Someday, she'll get it, but for now, she has to struggle until she can overcome her fear. That's hard to watch and not be able to do anything about it. But I love this girl and her determination, and I can't wait to see what else she'll do!